A Matter of Chance
by Nehebkau
Summary: Nothing can change Harry Potter’s ultimate destiny, but the journey itself… that’s another matter entirely. AU. Rated M as a precaution.
1. Prologue

Warnings: Spoilers for all seven books, Alternate Reality / Universe, some sexual references and innuendo in the very far future, some language/swearing (though mostly of the wizarding kind, such as "Merlin"), and mild (non-graphic) violence. Also, this is not completely written yet and I need a beta, so this will be slow to update.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, DH and that ridiculously cliché epilogue never would have happened. And Sirius would not have been killed by drapery.

A/N: All mistakes are my own and I appreciate them being pointed out. ^_^

_Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice._

***

Prologue:

The Unsung Hero

***

Hogwarts Castle had been around for a very long time. When the Founders initially created her, she had simply been a castle with powerful wards and a few magical quirks. However, several centuries of watching generations of students pass through her halls, each the possessor of at least a little magic, had greatly changed her. Her walls absorbed a bit of magic from every spell that was cast within them, which had accumulated over the years and made the castle herself sentient. And as with all sentient beings, if she became bored, she would find ways to entertain herself. During the summer months when there were no students to watch, Hogwarts became excessively active: incarnating suits of armor, rearranging the rooms and, to Snape's everlasting frustration, almost constantly moving the staircases.

It was one afternoon in the middle of July when the Hogwart's staircases were feeling particularly frisky that Snape had finally had enough; he had climbed no less than twenty-three flights of the ever-revolving stair cases in an attempt to return to his dungeons after lunch before he finally decided that using the Headmaster's floo would be easier.

Snape was fully prepared to start muttering the name of the ridiculous candy that Dumbledore seemed to favor this week, but was slightly surprised to see that the stone guardian had already stepped aside. As Snape made his way up the revolving staircase, he could hear the thick brogue Minerva only adopted when she was truly riled about something.

"…got to do something, Albus! The boy hasn't replied once! You know that-"

Snape gave a mental sigh, resigned to the fact that, should he enter the office now, he would also be subjected to Minerva's rant. He was standing outside the door, trying to decide if could run in and use the floo without being waylaid or if the risk of being caught was worth not climbing another mutinous stair, when something rather miraculous happened (although no one would ever describe or even recognize it as such). A tiny dust particle, absolutely microscopic in size, had been dislodged from its home on one of the stair cases during all of its earlier spinning and twirling. It had floated up and down through the air in the castle, flitting from current to current, until it finally came to rest within one of Snape's noticeably large nostrils.

This, of course, caused Snape to sneeze and miss the next couple of words (which just happened to be an important name) in the conversation, and thereby completely changed destiny as it had been previously written. Sadly, however, the dust mote was never recognized for his contribution to the wizarding world, and its only reward was a shower of mucus saturated with disgusting potion fumes.

After Snape shook his head to clear it, he thought it might be best to see what bee had gotten in Minerva's bonnet. If it was too bothersome, he could always go back and attempt to tame the stair cases again. Decision made, he climbed the last few stairs to the office, the accented voice becoming more distinct with every step.

"-must come to Hogwarts; are you sure that he is receiving his letters? The owl may have become confused by the wards. Maybe you should send more owls, just in case…"

Snape sighed, and wondered what would happen to Hogwarts if he were not there to state the obvious.

"Minerva, if one owl was confused by wards, chances are that any additional owls would also become befuddled by their presence. If it is so important that this student attend our humble school, why not just send someone to the house with a letter, instead?"

Albus's eyes began twinkling, which made Snape freeze in his tracks. Twinkling was almost never a good sign. In fact, it usually meant that the Headmaster was going to find some way to make Snape do something that he dearly did not wish to do, but would be forced to anyway because he had already walked neatly into the trap.

"What a splendid idea, Severus, my boy! Minerva and I are quite busy at the moment planning the security for the third floor, so we quite appreciate your help in this matter…"

Albus knew that Snape wanted nothing to do with this little errand, but even the Head of Slytherin's most evil glare, the one he used to make Hufflepuffs cry on a regular basis, did not phase the old man. Minerva took a step back, however, which placated Snape somewhat.

Albus continued on, blissfully smiling in his immunity to Snape's attempts at casting the Killing Curse with his eyes. "Here, let me give you the coordinates so you can apparate…."

Snape glanced at the address and silently cursed his poor luck. _On top of having to leave the castle when I only wanted to retire to my dungeons for the day, I am forced to travel all the way to Surrey? The place is packed with muggles, which would explain the presence of such powerful wards: no proper wizard would want all of those muggles on his lawn. How could this day possibly get any worse? I suppose I should just resign myself to my fate and get it over with._

"Very well, Albus. What is the name of the unfortunate student whom I will be visiting?"

Snape had the inane thought that Albus's twinkling now resembled the fireworks that the Weasley twins were so fond of before the Headmaster replied:

"Why, it's Harry Potter, of course."

_Oh, hell_.


	2. Ch 1: Perfectly Normal, Thank You

A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I had someone volunteer for the beta job, but then I never heard back from them. I decided to post this anyway, so please point out any mistakes. If anyone else is interested in helping me out, please send me a PM or mention it in your review and I'll get back to you.

Disclaimer: See Prologue

***

Chapter 1

Perfectly Normal, Thank You Very Much

****

Harry had never been afraid of the dark.

It had been his constant companion since the time before he could remember; it had accepted him when his parents abandoned him in death, embraced him when his aunt neglected him, and whispered to him with silken spider webs when Dudley chased away his friends. Although it couldn't feed him when he was hungry or heal him when his uncle was a little too enthusiastic while "teaching him a lesson for his own good," it was always there for him, which was more than he could say for anything else.

Without the use of his sight, Harry was left to develop his other senses; he sometimes swore he could hear individual spider footsteps, or taste the heavy and secure presence of the darkness on his tongue. It was only when he was in his cupboard under the stairs, with the door acting as a solid barrier between him and the rest of the world (which at the moment seemed to include a lot of yelling) that Harry felt truly secure.

It was therefore no surprise that when his cupboard door was almost ripped completely off of its hinges that he cringed back in fear and shock. The sudden light was blinding, and Harry longed to shut the door and invite the dark back in. One moment, he had been completely content and secure in his little hideaway, and in the next he felt completely lost and exposed. When a skeletal hand reached in and grabbed him by his baggy shirt, his instincts kicked in and he began to fight the intruder to his haven.

Needless to say, Snape was not pleased.

***

When Snape had arrived in Little Whinging, Surrey, he was immediately struck by the innate…_muggleness _of the place. The entire neighborhood was composed of hedges trimmed within an inch of their lives, lawns that would not dare stick a blade of grass out of place, and sensible cars whose waxed coatings positively glistened in the sunlight.

It was sickening.

How could magic possibly thrive in a place like this, where everything was controlled and the essence of its wild nature inhibited with an iron fist? And what sane wizard would deliberately expose himself to this kind of environment? Wards that were powerful enough to confuse owls would obviously only be used by an extremely private or paranoid wizard (which the caretaker of the Boy-Who-Lived certainly should be), so living in such a magic-less neighborhood could be another form of defense and hiding, but to such an extreme… it was definitely unhealthy, especially for a younger wizard to develop in.

The one time that Snape had asked what had happened to Lily's child, Albus had assured him that young Harry was safe and would be cared for. Snape repeatedly reassured himself that the Headmaster would never allow anything detrimental happen to savior of the wizarding world and began looking for Number 4, Privet Drive.

Snape's trepidation grew when he reached a house that looked and felt exactly like all of the others with the exception that the perimeter was firmly surrounded by powerful protective wards. Although the wards would definitely keep out anyone who approached the property with ill-intent, it did not appear to keep out the school's owls, some of which were still loitering on the nearby trees, which meant that Harry Potter should have received his letter and responded. The fact that he had not was most troubling.

Snape told himself that he was overreacting, and the fact that he was becoming less than apathetic over James Potter's child was ridiculous. Despite his mother's influence, the child was no doubt spoiled and arrogant beyond tolerance and might simply not view the letters as important enough to spend his valuable time reading them. Or perhaps he was hoping for exactly what he was getting: a professor having to appear in person and hand-deliver a letter, allowing the brat more attention and special treatment than any other student.

Well, the little blighter would be in for a surprise when he saw Severus Snape darkening his doorstep, wouldn't he? Snape allowed himself a small, vicious smile of anticipation and rang the doorbell.

Immediately after the sound had faded, a voice inside barked out an order to answer the door and to tell whoever it was that they didn't want any. There was a brief pounding sound inside that sounded like a herd of rampaging centaurs before the door was whipped open and an extremely large creature was scowling at him. The cretin looked him up and down with obvious disdain before snarling out a surly "Whaddya want, then?"

Snape had never felt so vindicated in his entire life. His inner demons were dancing around in circles with glee, chanting something that sounded suspiciously like "I was right, I was right!" The boy was obviously spoiled to the point of overindulgence if his lack of manners and excess of bulk were anything to go by. Even as he took a breath to answer the spawn of his childhood nemesis, the bloated adolescent plunged his hand in a bag of crisps and stuffed them in his mouth.

Snape sneered and tried to contain his own lunch; the sight of such gluttony was truly unsettling. "I am here to speak with you and your caretakers," he replied, before slipping past him (not an easy feat by any means) and entering the house of the great boy hero.

"Hey, you can't just come in here! Mummy! Daddy!"

Snape snorted. The Potter child obviously did not appreciate Lily's sacrifice if he was able to call another woman his mother. Severus did not blame him for trying to replace his reprobate of a father at the earliest opportunity, however.

It sounded like another herd of centaurs was stampeding toward him for a moment before another large male was in Snape's presence. The Slytherin was taken back for a moment when he saw the resemblance between the two since he didn't think that the Potters had any living relatives, but he supposed that Albus may have found a distant cousin to place the boy with. Or perhaps the man was using a glamour to make the fact that he and Harry were father and son more believable.

"Who do you think you are, barging into my home like this?" The older man looked him up and down, taking in his odd clothes and appearance. "You better have a good reason, or I'll call the police."

Severus thought that a person who was paranoid enough to have such powerful wards should also be paranoid enough to be whipping out his wand at an intruder. Why had he not made any move to defend himself or the boy?

"I am not here by choice, I can assure you. I am simply here to deliver the boy's Hogwarts letter and wait for a reply, since no owls have returned with one."

At that moment, the door to the kitchen opened and Severus felt every drop of his blood still for a moment. The bony, horse-like face was unmistakable, even though he had not seen it for over a decade.

His voice was hoarse with surprise and a torrent of ancient memories, but he managed to rasp out a faint, "Tuney?"

She blinked in surprise, but before she had a chance to respond, the man Severus now assumed to be her husband barked out, "Do you know this man, Petunia?"

She looked him up and down before sniffing disdainfully and saying, "Of course not, Vernon."

Severus knew that, in fact, Petunia had recognized Severus as Lily's childhood friend. However, she would not admit it to her husband in case he discovered _what_ he was, as well. It appeared that even after her sister's death that she resented the fact that Lily had been a witch and she had not. Petunia had always tried to mask her jealousy with cruel words and hate, and Severus felt a chill go down his spine at the thought that she might have taught Lily's son to despise magic as well.

"How long have you had Harry in your custody, Petunia?" Severus could not believe that Albus would be foolish enough to place a magical child with Petunia for an extended period of time, even if the shared blood offered a little extra protection. If he had been subjected to her prejudice from a young age…

"We've had to put up with him since his parents died, of course. No one else would take him in, and there was no way for us to explain his freakishness to the orphanages."

Petunia's husband looked slightly confused over the fact that his wife was simply spouting off all of this information to a supposedly complete stranger, but Severus himself was completely flabbergasted. What had Albus done, simply dropped the boy off on their doorstep without any explanation at all?

"I fear you are quite mistaken. There are dozens of wizards who would have given much to take the savior of the wizarding world into their home. I can only assume that he was given to you as a last resort for the protection that your blood can offer him, as he has no other living family. He is, however, now old enough for school, and I will be happy to take him off your hands."

With that, Severus turned and grabbed the boy, who had not stopped eating throughout the entire conversation, by the arm and began leading him out of the house. "Come along, boy."

Vernon immediately shouted "Hey!" and Petunia screeched and began slapping at his back. "No, not my Dudders! Get your hands off him!"

"Merlin, woman, make up your mind! Not a moment ago you said that you wanted to be rid of the boy, and now you are fighting to keep him?"

She snorted. "How could you possibly think my Diddykins is that little freak?" Severus glanced at 'Diddykins' again and wondered the same thing himself. "If you want the boy, he's in there," and pointed to a little locked cupboard under the staircase.

"I sincerely hope you are jesting, Petunia."

"Well, we couldn't very well keep him out here with normal people, could we? Someone could catch it! Or get hurt!"

Severus could not believe what he was hearing. He had known that Petunia had been jealous of her sister, but apparently that jealously had mutated over time and become actual hatred. The fact that she had taken out that hatred on a little boy, one that would have been treasured in any other household, was unforgivable.

The potions master was very tempted to curse them until they realized what dangerous magic really was, but he knew that both Albus and the aurors would be there within seconds if he tried. Instead, he marched over to the cupboard, unspelled the lock, and threw open the door.

Severus was angry enough that he wasn't quite thinking as he grabbed the huddled form inside. Had he been calmer, he probably would have realized that grabbing a child who, by all accounts, had been abused (at the very least mentally) was probably not the best idea. Immediately the small figure began thrashing about in his grasp, his movements panicked and jerky enough that Snape noticed a pair of glasses go flying. He didn't utter a word of protest, though, which worried the head of Slytherin even further.

"Pot- Harry, stop. I'm not going to hurt you."

At the sound of his name, Harry's face snapped up and Snape got his first real glimpse at the boy who lived.

In another world, Severus would not see the young Harry Potter until he was already at Hogwarts. His first impression of him would be from across a crowded hall, with his messy black hair as his most distinguishing feature. In this world, however, one small change resulted in our Potions Master meeting the same small boy at a much closer proximity, so he could not help but notice something else.

He had Lily's eyes.

For a moment, that was all the information that Severus could process. Huge, verdant eyes stared back at him, an exact replica of the eyes that had once held such warmth and friendship for Severus when no one else would look twice at the half-blood Slytherin.

These eyes, however, were full of fear and wariness, and Severus realized that he had not made the best first impression on the boy. Thankfully, he knew the magic words that would instantly change that.

"Come, Harry. We are leaving."

_TBC_


	3. Ch 2: A Long Seven Years

A/N: An Extra Big Thanks goes to BladesoftheValkyrie for actually taking the time to review and letting me know what you think. I really appreciate it! This chapter is for you. :)

Chapter 2:

A Long Seven Years

Not two seconds after he dragged a cringing Harry Potter out of Number 4, Privet Drive did Snape begin to doubt his hasty actions. True, he had managed to get the boy away from his abusive family, but he had no idea what to do with him now. The boy-who-lived-to-bemuse Severus would need a place to stay, school supplies, someone to look after him until school began… and someone to explain an entirely new world to him. Well, it had been Albus's decision that Harry stay with those horrible muggles, so it was only logical that he be held responsible for the boy now. His decision made, Snape quickly pulled Harry along with him to the edge of the wards, gave him a quick warning to hold on, and apparated to Hogsmeade.

***

Harry was sure he was dreaming. At first, the man who was now walking with him had been quite scary, but Harry was slowly growing used to his dark glower. After years of living with the Dursleys, he had learned to read body language very well since it had been vital to know when yelling might evolve into a more serious punishment. The dark man held himself stiffly and growled and yelled, but it did not mean that he was angry enough lock him in his cupboard. His abrupt movements seemed to be habitual and not a precursor to a smack across the back of his head. In fact, other than holding onto his arm a little too tightly at times, the dark man had not hurt him or said anything mean to him at all (although Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had not been so lucky).

However, Harry was not about to let his guard down around a stranger. While some people were inherently good and never hit or yelled, like his kindergarten teacher, Miss Weatherby, others were very fickle and could change on you in an instant, like his Aunt Petunia; she was mean most of the time and never stopped her husband when he got... ethusiastic, but sometimes she would sneak him extra food or give him medicine.

Harry thought he was prepared for anything the stranger might do, but even he didn't expect what happened next. Without any type of explanation, the man told him to hold on, and Harry's world turned topsy-turvy.

***

When the strange pressure faded, Harry felt his mind go blank. Whenever the Dursleys went shopping, Harry was always left with their neighbor, Mrs. Figg. Therefore, the only places he had seen outside of the house had been on the way to school, and nothing on that route looked anything like this.

It was too good to be true.

Right in front of him was one of the most colorful buildings he had ever seen. Inside of the window, things were whirling, whistling, and creating sparks and rainbow smoke. It was so busy that he could barely take a fraction of it in before the dark man was dragging him along again. The next building was almost as colorful, but not quite as loud. It seemed to be full of every kind of sweet imaginable and, somehow, a few of them even seemed to be moving by themselves. Harry had never seen Dudley bring sweets like these home before, but he knew that his parents bought him anything he wanted so he must have eaten it before they returned home.

The dark man was still dragging Harry along, though, so he turned his attention to the other stores they passed. While none were as colorful or exciting as the first two, they were all so different and new to him and he couldn't help but stare around him in obvious wonder until he was dragged past them.

After passing the stores, they continued to walk in the woods outside the town until a break in the trees allowed Harry his first real glimpse of a _castle_. The sight was absolutely breathtaking, and Harry stumbled to a stop for the first time since leaving the Dursleys' house. He knew his jaw was hanging open, but he couldn't help it; the sun was just starting to set, and the orange rays and flames from the torches were reflecting off of the lake nearby. Most of the dozens of windows were lit, and the overall effect was wonderfully welcoming. It was straight out of a fairy tale, and Harry would not have been surprised to learn that King Authur himself held court there.

The dark man then tugged his arm again to remind Harry that they were apparently on a mission of some sort, and Harry continued walking again (although he didn't remember to shut his mouth until after a bug had flown into it).

***

With every step he took away from the muggle-infested location known as Surrey, Snape grew more and more… apprehensive. Potter had not once uttered a single sound, not even after they had apparated. They were now walking through a wizarding village with store displays fairly reeking with magic, something Snape was now sure that the little cretin had never experienced before, and still the boy just looked around him with wide eyes. All of the little first-year muggleborns Snape had ever had the misfortune to meet would have been squealing about magic and asking dozens of questions by this point (the most often repeated being, "Can we go into the sweets store now?" closely followed by the infamous, "Why not?" and a sulky pre-teen).

Snape simply supposed it would be one more thing to report to the Headmaster, and for Minerva to rant about, as well. It was going to be a long month… or, more accurately, a long seven years.

***

A/N: Sorry this is such a short chapter. I had more written at the bottom, but it was more of a generalization of what happened and I decided that the scene required more detail. I took it out and wrote the next chapter (which is also, sadly, somewhat short, due to fact that it just seemed like good stopping point and I need to stop going over these chapters a million times or they'll never get posted). Thanks for reading!


	4. Ch 3: Into the Looking Glass

Chapter 3:

Into the Looking Glass

After being dragged through gates that opened by themselves, ferried across a lake on a boat with no oars or motor, and then taken through halls filled with hundreds of televisions and moving staircases, Harry was starting to get really confused.

What manner of insanity had he stumbled into? Had he fallen through a mirror somewhere?

When the dark man growled out "lemon drops" at a gargoyle and it jumped aside, Harry jumped as well in surprise. And then the staircase began moving with Harry actually on it this time, which felt a bit strange.

Before the door at the top of the stairs was completely open, the man was yelling at someone named "Albus."

"Do you have any idea what you've done, you meddling old fool? When I asked after Lily's son, you told me that he was safe! That he would be cared for! You thought that Lily's magic-hating sister could care for a wizard child?"

The old man behind the desk seemed surprised to be on the receiving end of such anger, and then even more so when he saw Harry standing there. Harry immediately dropped his eyes and stood as still as he could near the doorway where he wouldn't be in the way.

"Now, Severus, Petunia is Harry's aunt - his blood relative. And Harry was a mere baby, the same age as her own son, when I left him in her care. I'm sure-"

The dark man, Severus, leaned across the desk and hissed. "They had him locked inside a _cupboard_, Albus."

The older man became very still, and when he finally spoke his voice was barely above a whisper.

"What do you mean?"

"It was his room. They had to keep him away from 'normal' people, after all. His 'freakishness,'" he sneered, "might have been dangerous or, even worse, contagious."

Albus bent his head and looked very tired. "You... are you quite sure? Did you see this, or did Harry-"

"_They_ told me, Albus. Believe me, they had no qualms about releasing their vitriol. Their prejudice and resulting abuse and neglect are beyond the pale, and I'll be damned before I see Lily's son return to that stagnant, magic-stunting, muggle cesspool of a house."

Despite his best efforts to remain still, Harry's head snapped up at that. He had been more than a little confused when Severus mentioned magic and wizards, but the idea of not going back to Privet Drive, of never having to see the Dursleys again... he knew it was far too good to be true. And sure enough, the older man immediately began to refute his declaration.

"Severus, it's not that simple. Living with Lily's blood relative provides young Harry with protective blood wards. His mother's sacrifice-"

"-Will mean _nothing_ if her son continues to live in such a negative environment," he snarled. "You don't know Petunia. She has always had nothing in her heart but bitterness when it comes to her sister, and I'm sure that the same holds true for her sister's son. Her hatred will only continue to grow once we begin schooling the boy. There are hundreds of wizarding families who would give their magic to raise the Boy Who Lived, many of which have powerful wards of their own. Any family allied with the Light would be a better choice."

"My boy, you don't understand. We don't know who we can trust, and blood wards are far more-"

Severus leaned back and crossed his arms. Instead of continuing to yell, however, his voice became deadly calm. "Albus, he is never going back."

Right then, Harry thought that Severus was the most frightening and the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

When he saw Albus slowly nod his head in acceptance, he wanted to shout, or cry, or simply curl up in a small, dark place until he could breathe normally again, but he knew that he still had to be on his best behavior. He stood as still and as unobtrusively as he could, trying to remain silent and not make eye contact. His was shaking slightly, but he didn't think anyone noticed.

The older man then stood up and walked over to him, so he automatically dropped his eyes down to his feet. He therefore didn't see what Albus was planning to do and startled when he placed a hand on his shoulder. The hand was immediately withdrawn, and his face looked very sad.

"I'm sorry, Harry, my boy. We've done nothing but shout, and you have no idea who I even am, do you?"

Harry shook his head. "No, sir."

Albus shot a sidelong glance at Severus, as though amused at the fact that he had not introduced the newer man before going on his rampage.

"Well, then. I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry. You, of course, have already met our resident potions master, Professor Snape."

A small croon came from the corner by the desk, and the Headmaster chuckled.

"Of course, my dear friend, forgive me. That was Fawkes, my companion."

Harry looked over to where Dumbledore had gestured, only to see a raggedly looking bird barely hanging on to his perch. He wasn't sure how to greet a bird, so he just nodded and hoped that he wouldn't be admonished for his lack of avian etiquette. Fawkes made a noise that sounded happy to Harry, so he supposed that he passed.

"Harry..." Professor Dumbledore moved his hand as though he was going to try to touch him again, but quickly dropped it back down to his side. "Harry, how would you like to stay here for a while?"

Harry blinked. "In the castle, sir?" Did he mean in the dungeons? All castles had dungeons, didn't they?

The Headmaster nodded. "As I said, this is a school. It is not in session right now, but classes will resume in September. Until then, I do not believe your family would protest if you remain under our care."

Severus snorted. "Not if they know what's good for them, they won't."

Harry was astonished. The _castle_ was the school that Professor Dumbledore had talked about? But he said that it was a school for witchcraft and wizardry... which didn't make any sense. Was he perhaps playing the part of the Mad Hatter, and Professor Snape the March Hare? Harry was so very, very lost.

Still, while the Dursleys were not the kindest of people, and Professor Snape did not seem all that bad, the "potions master" had said that it was Professor Dumbledore who had left them with the Dursleys to begin with. He should probably not just automatically assume that the old man had his best interests in mind, but he shouldn't question things too much, either... perhaps just a general question?

"What would I be doing here, sir?"

Professor Dumbledore looked at him as though he was the one who was confused. "As I said, Harry, Hogwarts is a school for witchcraft and wizardry."

Right. Well, that didn't help at all.

Harry studied the floor furiously, wondering how he could get information without actually having to ask a question that made him sound as though he was stupid. Being stupid was almost as bad as being a freak.

Professor Snape suddenly straightened up.

"Harry, did your aunt ever tell you about your mother?"

"Yes, sir."

He looked a little more confused at first, but then he asked, "What did she tell you?"

Harry knew he would be in serious trouble if he lied, but he didn't really want to tell them what his aunt had said. What if the professors changed their minds about letting him stay after they heard what his parents were like? The Dursleys always said that he was going to be just like them, and who would want someone like that at their school? He had known that it was too good to be true. The Dursleys would be taunting him about this for weeks, thinking that someone could actually want him.

"She said... she said that she married a drunk wastrel who killed them and gave me my scar in a car accident. She-"

"Stop right there, Harry," Professor Snape said sharply. "She told you that they died in a car accident?"

Harry nodded miserably. "Yes, sir."

He swore. "Harry, she lied to you. Pot... your father was not a drunk, and he did not kill himself or your mother. They were war heroes, and they died protecting you from a very evil wizard."

Harry simply couldn't take this anymore. They simply could not mean what they thought he meant. "Er, I'm sorry, but what do you mean by wizard, sir?"

Dumbledore's face finally cleared. "Harry, you mean to tell me that your aunt never told you about magic?"

Harry's face paled. Was this a trick? "I'm not allowed to say that word, sir. There's no such thing."

"On the contrary, Harry, magic does exist. Did you not wonder about all of the strange things you saw on your way here?"

"Well, yes sir, of course I did, but-"

"Oh, good Merlin, we'll be here all day," Snape grumbled. He whipped out a slender stick and barked, "Lumos!" A light began to glow at the end of the stick, and then extinguished when he said "Nox."

He then pointed the stick at one of the books on the desk. "Wingardium Leviosa," and the book flew up into the air until he set it back down and canceled that spell, as well."

He then created fire, water, and turned the Headmaster's dish of candy into a bunch of yellow canaries.

Harry couldn't move. If he didn't know any better, he could swear that Professor Snape had just done the forbidden, something Harry thought that only he could do.

He looked at Professor Dumbledore, but he didn't seem at all upset by Professor Snape's actions, which could only mean one thing...

"Does that mean... are you both freaks, too?"

***

A/N: Sorry this is another fairly short chapter. I had more written at the bottom in chapter 2, but it was more of a generalization of what happened and I decided that the scene required more detail. Subsequently I edited the last chapter and wrote this one to cover what was previously a few paragrahps. o_O I hope you enjoy the new version, and thanks for reading!


	5. Ch 4: Snakes Among Sweet Flowers

Disclaimer: Harry Potter & Co. do not belong to me and I make no profit from this. All mistakes are my own, but I appreciate them being pointed out to me (or volunteers for a beta!).

Chapter 4: Snakes Among Sweet Flowers

After Severus made his report to the Headmaster and Albus realized that Harry knew nothing about his parents, let alone anything magical, Dumbledore had eventually agreed with Snape's decision about removing the Potter boy from the Dursley household. Severus knew how reluctant he had been to give up the blood wards that would protect the boy from Voldemort if he ever returned but, as Snape had later pointed out, the boy would hardly be the weapon Dumbledore wanted for the wizarding world if no wizard ever lifted a finger, let alone a wand, to help him. Nor would he ever be able to fight a dark wizard if he was jumping at shadows, always expecting a blow for the smallest slight.

Lily's son could never grow up to be strong and healthy while living in a cupboard.

Albus looked as though his age had finally caught up when everything was said and done, but he had agreed with Snape: Harry was now an unofficial ward of Hogwart's.

Of course, even when Snape won, he lost.

Quickly regaining his youthful image, Albus then stated that, as Harry would be staying at Hogwarts indefinitely, he would be needing new clothes along with his school supplies for the new year. And since Harry was "apparently" already comfortable and familiar with one Hogwart's professor, said professor would be the ideal candidate to take the young boy shopping.

Snape _hated_ shopping; he hated the crowds, the noise, the sticky-fingered children, and the parents on edge trying to control their wild spawn (Merlin forbid the Weasleys and their brood choose the same day to shop as Snape). It would be even worse with school starting up soon, and Albus knew it.

Thankfully, the Headmaster said that he could take a few days to get used to the idea. The school had several necessities that Potter could use in the meantime, and Snape would be able to complete all of the potions he was currently working on.

Hoping to finally be rid of the boy, Snape then asked where he would be staying (more than half-expecting for Albus to suggest the Gryffindor dorms). When the eyes began sparkling again, Snape belatedly realized that he should have known better. It probably would not be wise to leave the boy alone so soon after leaving the Dursely household, and his rooms in the dungeons were quite large for a single occupant.

Damn it.

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Harry couldn't believe it. From as long as he could remember, he had been told that his parents had been wastrels and a burden to society, and now to learn that they had been heroes... it was almost exactly like one of the fantasies he had spun while locked in his cupboard (the only difference was that they had usually been international spies on a mission to save the world, but war heroes was close enough).

And then they had begun mentioning magic. _Magic!_ He wasn't a freak (Professor Snape had nearly blown a gasket after that little comment). Merlin had been _real_, and there were tons of other people (including other children!) who could do magic just like him. Harry had apparently done it several times accidentally while he was at the Dursleys, which Professor Dumbledore had assured him was perfectly normal for a young wizard. Harry was still so excited that he had chills, and he was starting to wonder if he had practiced daydreaming so much that he had somehow become trapped in one.

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Harry was having an absolutely _awesome_ birthday. He was fairly certain that he was still dreaming, but by now it was the longest dream he had ever had. Maybe he was in a coma? He had seen that on a TV show that Aunt Petunia was watching once. Everyone had been very sad that a man in a coma wasn't waking up, but if the man's coma was anything like Harry's he understood why he wouldn't want to. Harry never wanted to wake up, either.

Who would want to wake up from a world filled with _magic?_ With people who, admittedly, acted quite gruff and said a lot of things that didn't make sense, but never hit him? Who gave him clean clothes that fit (magically!), food to eat (made by _elves_), books to read (or that read _to_ him), and his very own room to sleep in? Even his wardrobe, which he was supposed to use for _clothes_, was bigger than the cupboard he slept in on Privet Drive.

Now he was going shopping! He was going, along with his future professor of _magic_, to a _magical _city that was even bigger than the town next to the castle! Harry was so excited that he wanted to fidget, and badly, but he did his best not to. He didn't want anything to ruin this perfect moment, and the Dursleys had always yelled at him for fidgeting before. Nothing like that would happen today, though; he'd make sure of it.

Over the past few days, Harry had come to the conclusion that, while Professor Snape might not be the nicest man, he was really quite decent. He reminded him of one of Mrs. Figg's cats, a scarred, cantankerous old Tom that would often hiss and scratch or bite if Harry moved too quickly for his liking. But Harry found out that if he sat quietly for a few moments, he could slowly reach out and scratch him behind the ears. The Tom would often still keep a wary eye on him, but he would eventually start to relax and purr a bit if Harry behaved.

After several days of watching Professor Snape interact with the headmaster and the other professors at the school, the similarities were becoming even more apparent. Professor McGonnagal was far too abrupt for Professor Snape's liking, always slashing her hands or nodding her head sharply to emphasize her point (which more often than not had to do with Harry or "Her Gryffindors"), and Snape would always hiss and snarl in reply. Albus Dumbledore was much better, usually using a very soft, calm voice when speaking, which Professor Snape responded much more positively to.

Harry felt that so far, out of the three of them, he was doing the best at not getting bitten. The Professor gave him several books about potions to read, saying that being raised by muggles was no excuse for ignorance and that he would be treated the same as the children who had known about magic their entire lives. Harry knew that he would have to study very hard in the next month if he wanted a chance of passing any of his classes.

However, since potions wouldn't be Harry's only class, he needed to get the books for his other classes as soon as possible. Harry knew that Snape wasn't happy about taking him, but he couldn't procrastinate any more. After taking something called a "flew" (although why it was called a flew when they weren't really flying, Harry had no idea) and landing in a tavern, Professor Snape and Harry walked to the back of the bar and out to the alleyway without incident. The Professor then tapped some of the bricks with his wand, which made Harry think that perhaps he might be a _spy_, like that James Bond chap, and that the brick-tapping was a secret code for something. When the bricks began rearranging themselves and a doorway appeared, he wasn't disappointed. Magic was _brilliant_!

After stopping at the bank (which was filled with goblins that acted a bit like his professor, snarling and showing a lot of yellow teeth), they made their way back into the shopping district. Harry didn't know where he wanted to go first, but the Professor said that the logical thing to do would be to get a wand. Since Harry thought being logical was, er, logical, he agreed.

However, before they arrived, Harry heard the most curious thing coming from the menagerie. A young boy was speaking (in a tone of voice that would have gotten Harry shut in his cupboard for at least a week had he used it at his aunt and uncle's house), trying to cajole his father into buying him a snake. That, however, was not what had caught Harry's attention.

The snake was talking back.

"_Stupid boy. Can he not see that I am venomous? No matter how powerful his father is, I would never be allowed at a school. I don't care how pretty he is, animals with no common sense should not be allowed to breed. If he comes any closer, I'll bite him. Then we'll see if he wants to take me to a school crammed with loud, grabby children…"_

However, the boy didn't seem to hear this. At least, Harry hoped that he couldn't hear him. He would hate to think that the boy did hear the snake and was still approaching the tank. The snake said the boy had no common sense, but that was really pushing it.

Still, Harry decided to err on the side of caution. The Professor was still walking, so Harry tugged on his sleeve to get his attention. "Er, Professor Snape, sir? I think-"

Just then, Harry saw the snake begin to coil up as the blonde boy took a few steps closer, looked around to make sure the clerk was on the other side of the store, and began to take the lid off of the tank.

Harry began running toward the boy, yelling "Stop!" and making quite the commotion, he was sure. Still, he managed to knock the boy away from the cage and onto the floor just before the snake had a chance to strike. Unfortunately, this also knocked the lid out of the boy's hand and left the top of the aquarium wide open.

The snake, being much more clever than the boy who was just trying to reach into his tank, quickly made his escape. He was apparently quite passionate about his Darwinistic beliefs, however, as he still seemed bent on attacking the boy Harry was trying to save.

Trying to be logical like Professor Snape, Harry thought that, since he could understand the snake, perhaps the snake could understand him as well. He looked directly at the snake, held up a hand, and said, "Stop, snake!"

To Harry's immense relief, it did.

However, instead of attacking, the snake then did the most peculiar thing. It raised itself up until it was eye-level with Harry, who was still sprawled on the floor. Turning his head to the side, the snake then asked, "Do you think I'm handsome, Speaker?"

Harry wasn't really sure what that had to do with biting anyone, but decided to go with the more polite answer. "Er… yes. Very. You are a very handsome snake."

Seeming pacified, the snake then slithered back up to his tank and curled up on the rock to nap. Turning to the boy next to him, Harry was surprised to see a look of complete awe on his face.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable and beginning to wonder if the boy really was right in the head, Harry finally had to say something. "Um… do I have something on my face?"

"You…you can talk to snakes?" Harry was relieved to see that the blonde had recovered his wits enough to speak, at least.

"Well, to that one, anyway. And a python at the zoo once. But I haven't talked to any other snakes before. Have you?"

Now the blonde was looking at Harry as though _he _was the one who wasn't right in his head, which Harry didn't think was very fair. After all, the snake hadn't wanted to bite _him_.

When the boy still didn't say anything, Harry remembered that he was supposed to be with Professor Snape at all times. He quickly looked around and spotted the Professor and another blonde (most likely the boy's father) standing behind him with the same expression of shock as the boy's. Harry was beginning to believe that, despite his lack of fidgeting, he had somehow already ruined his day out after all. Was talking to snakes not allowed in the wizarding world?

"Professor Snape? Did I do something wrong?"

The blond man glanced sharply at his professor. "He is with you, Severus?"

Harry thought that the blonde man's voice sounded an awful lot like the snake's. Perhaps he was obsessed with being handsome, as well? His hair looked like he spent a lot of time on it, anyway.

Heaving a great sigh, Professor Snape nodded. "Yes, he's with me. Lucius, allow me to introduce my new ward, Harry Potter."

The blonde man, Mr. Lucius, turned to look back at Harry, who was just beginning to get up from the floor. "Really?" he asked and, for some strange reason Harry couldn't understand, brought his cane up to sweep aside Harry's bangs. "How utterly… delightful. I'm sure that we will be great friends, Mr. Potter."

Harry thought that Mr. Lucius was a little old to be his friend but, as his son had already demonstrated, good sense did not seem to be a trait that ran in their family.

Still, he knew that the professor would want him to be polite to his friend. "Thank you, sir," he replied, hoping that was an adequate response. Mr. Lucius smiled, so Harry thought it must have been.

The blonde boy finally seemed to regain his composure and stood up. After brushing himself off, he held out a hand for Harry to shake.

"I'm Draco Malfoy," he declared. Harry thought that the tone was rather haughty for someone who had just picked both his jaw and the rest of his body off of the ground but, again, he knew that the Professor would want him to "play nice." Resigning himself to his fate, Harry held out his hand as well.

After he had shaken Draco's hand and released it, however, Harry noticed Draco's shoulders relax. Had he been tense about shaking his hand? Why? Was it because he Harry had talked to the Snake? The Professor still hadn't said anything about that… and he was standing very stiffly, as though he was either upset or very conscious of his every movement. Harry hoped that he wasn't angry with him.

"Father," Draco suddenly said, "may we take Harry shopping with us?"

Mr. Malfoy turned to Professor Snape. "That is up to Severus and Mr. Potter, of course."

Acting as though that was all that needed to be said (and apparently it was), Draco immediately grabbed Harry's hand and began dragging him along to the robe shop, chattering the whole way.

Although Draco seemed a bit stuck up and was going on about a lot of things Harry didn't understand (such as "kwidditch"), Harry couldn't help but smile. Not only did Draco no longer seem to care about his talking with the snake, he actually wanted to spend more time with him.

Harry had had made his first friend.

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After visiting only two shops, Harry's arm was quite sore from being continuously dragged about by the blonde. His head was also uncomfortably full with all of the new knowledge about the magical world that Draco had tried to instill upon him after Harry admitted that he had been raised by muggles. There were dung bombs and enchanted ceilings and _real_ dragons and tickling hexes and… Harry simply couldn't wrap his mind around it all.

Draco seemed determined that he would know about all things magical before school started again in a month, however. "After all, we can't have Harry Potter arrive at Hogwarts like some stupid mudblood, can we?" Harry wasn't sure what a mudblood was but, according to Draco, most of the other students had been raised with magic. They already knew all about racing brooms and chocolate frogs, and if Harry displayed his ignorance it would make him stand out. Harry had learned the hard way that standing out often resulted in a beating from Dudley and his friends or time in his cupboard, so he was determined to learn all he could.

Draco had already gotten his wand, so he had dragged Harry along to the robes shop ("You'll need a school uniform, of course, but I don't suppose you have wizarding robes after living with muggles… and your outfit is deplorable, you'll simply have to get a completely new wardrobe"), and the book store ("I can't be bothered to explain _everything_, you know. Here's _Hogwarts, A History_. That's a good place to start."). Draco had then dragged him to along to an ice cream shop and ordered pumpkin ice cream for the both of them ("You had better get used to the taste of pumpkin, Harry") and was in the middle of explaining about house elves, when he suddenly changed the topic. "Severus has already told you about the four houses at Hogwarts, hasn't he?"

Harry shook his head and looked over at the professor, who was chatting with Mr. Malfoy at another table. "Not really. He's been very busy with his potions."

Draco scoffed. "It's _only_ something that will decide your next seven years at Hogwarts. Merlin. Severus said that you are his ward, so you must be staying in his rooms in the dungeons, right?" Harry nodded around his mouthful of ice cream. "Severus lives in the dungeons because he is the head of Slytherin, the best of the four houses, and the Slytherin dorms are also in the dungeons. When first years enter Hogwarts, they are sorted by a talking hat and placed into one of the houses where they will live for the rest of their school career. Your house also determines which quidditch team you can join, and all of the houses compete for points throughout the year. It's very important."

Harry gulped. Draco sounded like he would be in Slytherin for sure, but what if what if the hat put Harry in one of the other houses? Draco had been very good about explaining things to him so far, but what if the other students made fun of him when they found out he didn't know anything? Would Draco even be his friend if he was put into one of the other houses?

"How does the hat choose which house to put you in?" he asked worriedly.

Draco smiled. "Don't worry, there's no way you'll be in any house but Slytherin. You're a parselmouth, after all."

Harry frowned. "What's a parselmouth?"

Draco laughed. "It means you can talk to snakes, of course. Has Severus not told you what you are?"

Harry shook his head. "He didn't know before today. Does that mean that all wizards can't talk to snakes, then?"

Draco simply stared for moment, before a huge smile spread across his face. "So you mean other than Severus, my father, and myself, no one else knows that you are a parselmouth?" Harry shook his head, and Draco suddenly looked as if all his Christmases had come early. "No, Harry, only a few very powerful wizards have ever been able to talk to snakes."

"Oh," Harry said. Draco didn't act as though being a parselmouth was something to hide, but if only a few other wizards were able to talk to snakes, wouldn't that make him stand out? Wasn't that bad?

"In fact, the most famous parselmouth in history was the founder of Slytherin house himself. That's why I think you'll be in Slytherin house, Harry. It would be ridiculous for the hat to put you anywhere else. You saved me from the snake, so you're no cowering Hufflepuff. You don't like to show off foolishly, so you can't be a Gryffindor, and, no offense, but you know nothing about the wizarding world, so I doubt you'll be a Ravenclaw. Usually the students who are put in that house already know all of the first year textbooks by heart. No, you belong in Slytherin. It's the house for cunning folk, like us. You want to belong to the best house, don't you, Harry?"

"Yes," Harry said without hesitation. Slytherin meant Draco, his one friend, and that was all Harry really cared about. That, and perhaps Professor Snape would like him a little more if he was part of his house.

"Well, that's all that matters then, really," Draco said with a smirk. Looking infinitely proud of himself, Draco took a huge bite of his ice cream. Harry felt as though he had passed his first test as a wizard, and returned Draco's smirk with a grin. As long as Harry had Draco by his side, Hogwarts would be a breeze.

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Across the restaurant, Lucius looked on with the hint of a smirk on his face. His son was fast becoming Harry Potter's friend, and if he could maintain the friendship…

Well, things were certainly looking up for the Malfoys.

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A/N: Sorry for the super long wait! I rewrote this chapter about twenty times (I wanted to add more detail and interaction between Harry and Snape, but it seemed awkward), and eventually decided to just stop fiddling with it and post it. I hope you enjoyed it!

The chapter title comes from the old proverb, "Look before you leap, for snakes among sweet flowers do creep"


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